The health minister says there’s no prospect of nine hospitals losing their trauma centres anytime soon.

Simon Harris was responding to newspaper reports that the centres could be shut as part of a centralisation programme.

The Sunday Business Post yesterday reported that the plan would see centralised emergency departments given better equipment to deal with accident cases.

But Minister Harris says the reports are very premature:”We’ve got to make sure if you or I have a severe trauma, severe head trauma, that we’re taking to the right hospital.

“This is happening in an informal basis, in lots of places throughout the country today, where the ambulance arrives and takes you to the best appropriate place.

“Well let me be cristal clear, there are no plans to close ED’s in relation to this and any suggestion that there is, is misleading.”